Party Animal
by IrishDipstick
Summary: Taylor strikes again. Warning may contain spanking of a minor.
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors note: I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed my stories to date. Fully living up to my pen name I didn't realise I could reply to reviews until today - sorry! **_

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters. Warning later chapters may contain spanking of a minor.**

**Party Animal**

**Chapter 1**

Taylor had actually looked forward to going back to school when her suspension was up. Trailing around after her father like a little puppy or being watched by some other appointed "babysitter" was boring, boring, boring. Now after four weeks of detention Taylor eagerly anticipated the summer break. Just one more day and she would be free for what seemed to be forever. Contemplating the endless possibilities this freedom would present as she walked home from school she didn't notice the car pulling up alongside her until the driver hit the horn. Taylor jumped and spun round ready to swear, but the anger on her face was quickly replaced by a huge smile when she realised who it was. "Hey DJ, didn't know you were old enough to drive."

He just winked at her and changed the subject. "Haven't seen you for ages, you decided you like school better than hangin' out with us?"

"No, got caught." she sighed.

DJ laughed before leaning towards her. "Big party on Friday night if you wanna go?"

Taylor hesitated.

"What? You scared? I'll look out for you."

"I'm not scared!" she insisted "Sounds good."

"Ok then, I'll text you the when and where tomorrow." Revving the car he shouted out a final "You're gonna need to bring a six pack or something " then sped off, wheels spinning.

Taylor watched until the bright red car disappeared into the traffic before starting to walk again. Excited but afraid at the same time, she had never been to a real party before. Just dumb kid ones. This was gonna be one hell of a way to start the summer.

The more Taylor walked the more her enthusiasm was replaced by concerns of how she would actually be able to pull this off. For a start she could just imagine her dad's response if she asked to be allowed to go. It would definitely not be "Of course you can go Taylor, just make sure you have fun." That meant sneaking out, and how was she supposed to get a hold of any alcohol? She was eleven for heavens sake, it's not as if she could use a fake id. This was not gonna be easy. Possible, but not easy.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters. Warning later chapters may contain spanking of a minor._**

Chapter 2

Making the most of the time she had before her dad got home Taylor abandoned her backpack just inside the front door and raced to the fridge. Pulling the door open she examined the contents. An unopened six pack sat on the top shelf, but as she stared at it, a rare case of common sense took over, and she realised it wouldn't take long before her dad noticed it missing. Slamming the fridge door a little harder than she had to Taylor turned and surveyed the rest of the kitchen. Nothing. Then it hit her. Basement. What did it matter if it wasn't beer? Alcohol was alcohol, right? Heading down the stairs and into the basement she made a bee line to where she knew her dad kept his bourbon. Not the already opened bottle sitting on a high shelf, but the other bottles he kept in a cupboard on the floor. These were the ones given to him for his birthday and at Christmas. It would take him forever to get through them all, and hopefully he wouldn't miss one. Picking the one that looked the oldest Taylor listened carefully for a car engine before braving the trip back up the stairs. Just as the bottle was safely zipped up into her backpack her dad pulled into the driveway. Without hesitation she grabbed the bag and fled to her room, stashing it under her bed.

"Taylor, you up there?" Gibbs shouted from the hall

"Yeah dad." she replied trying to slow her breathing down to it's normal rate.

"Come on, you can give me a hand with dinner."

Putting on her best 'innocent' look Taylor went down to help.

The last day of school flew in, much to Taylor's delight, and her thoughts were now full of the party. Briefly she had thought of inviting one or two of her friends but they had already arranged to go to the cinema. When they asked her to go too, Taylor saw the perfect opportunity open up, and immediately agreed. All systems go she thought.

School was out early because it was the last day of term so Taylor headed to NCIS to wait for her dad to finish work. He didn't have a problem with her going to the movies as long as he knew who she was with. He even offered them a lift. Feeling ever so slightly guilty she told him that Sarah's mom was going to take them. He knew both Sarah and her mother, so he seemed happy enough with the arrangement. DJ sent her a text as promised, he told her he had the car and would pick her up if she wanted. Taylor grinned when she read this, outside the cinema would be perfect.

By eight o'clock Taylor was ready to roll, complete with the bottle hidden in a slightly smaller bag. When Sarah's mom beeped the horn she gave her dad a quick kiss and ran towards the car. As he watched her go he shouted after her "You behave!". Wondering if he could read her mind she turned and waved as she climbed into the back seat. They were dropped off right in front of the cinema. Taylor immediately spotted DJ's red car across the street. As soon as Sarah's mom drove off, Taylor turned to Sarah and Amy. "Think I'm gonna give the movie a miss." They both looked at her in surprise. "Got a party to go to. Wanna come?"

Amy and Sarah looked at each other. Both shook their heads.

"Suit yourselves." Taylor shouted back to them as she crossed the road towards DJ, "Just don't tell your mom!"

Amy and Sarah watched in amazement as Taylor and the red car sped off, tyres screeching at the sudden acceleration.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.**

**Chapter 3**

The party was in full swing when Taylor and DJ showed up. She had no sooner stepped through the door, clutching the stolen bottle of bourbon, when it was snatched from her grasp. "Classy, you really know how to pick the good stuff kid!" a lanky teenager in shorts told her, before proceeding to pour the entire contents of the bottle into an extremely large bowl of punch. Taylor had no idea what he meant by this, she had just chosen the oldest, dustiest bottle there. He gave the bowl a quick stir before offering her a paper cup filled with the colourful liquid.

Neither of them had any idea whose house it was, but they weren't complaining, it even had a pool. The house was packed with kids, most of them older than her, about fourteen or fifteen, so Taylor didn't recognise them. That didn't matter though she was happy enough to sit on the stairs, watching everyone, while sipping at her drink.

A few drinks later Taylor was no longer content to just watch. An impromptu game of football broke out on the front lawn. Both DJ and Taylor joined in, although they spent more of the game in a tangled giggling heap on the ground, than chasing the ball. She was having the time of her life. When the game finished the pair lay down on the grass to get their breath back. Taylor glanced at her watch. Crap! It was getting late. The movie would have finished an hour ago. She sat bolt upright, head spinning.

"DJ I gotta go. If I leave it any longer I'm gonna get caught."

"Ok, ok. Don't panic, I'll take you home." Standing up, he searched through his pockets for the car keys, swaying slightly as he did so. Ignoring the little voice screaming in her head "DON'T DO IT!" Taylor followed him to the car.

*****_S_orry it's short, the next chapter will be longer*****


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.**

**Chapter 4**

Gibbs lifted his keys and headed out to the car. Sarah's mother had phoned to let him know that her car wouldn't start, so he was going to pick up the girls instead. Arriving a little early, he parked in front of the cinema and waited for the trio to appear. Before long he spotted Sarah and Amy, but no Taylor. Even without the nasty feeling in his gut, the guilty looks the pair exchanged made it perfectly clear something was going on. It was also a pretty safe bet he wasn't going to like it.

Stepping out of car he waited for them to reach him.

"Where's Taylor? He asked softly

Amy and Sarah just looked at each other.

"Where's Taylor?" he repeated, this time a little more forcefully.

Finally Amy spoke "She didn't watch the movie."

"Where did she go?"

They both shrugged at the same time.

Losing patience he bellowed "Well what DO you know?"

Amy looked at him, tears starting to form in her eyes. "She just told us she was going to a party, then got into a car and left."

"You know anything about this party, or who was in the car?

They both shook their heads.

He looked at Sarah, who so far had said nothing.

"Why didn't you call your mom and tell her Taylor had gone off on her own?"

"I……we……she….." Sarah began to explain. Gibbs interrupted

"Let me guess, Taylor told you not to!"

With no way to make it sound any better, she nodded.

"Ok, in the car." he ordered.

By the time he had delivered the now crying girls home he had only gained one more piece of information, the car was red. Not exactly much to go on.

Turning the car around he drove at breakneck speed to McGee's apartment. He was gonna kill her. Well maybe not kill, but he was going to make damn sure she didn't pull anything like this again. God only knew what sort of situations she was putting herself into. He'd had enough of her reckless stunts and lying. It stopped now!

Tim answered the pounding on his door. "Boss?" he uttered in surprise.

"Need a favour Tim" he pushed past him into the living room, "can you pick up a location using the GPS chip on Taylor's phone?"

"She in trouble?" Tim asked as he fired up his computer.

"When isn't she?" he replied with exasperation.

While McGee worked Gibbs called Abby to ask her to go wait at his house, just in case Taylor returned, leaving strict instructions to contact him if she did.

Feeling a little more in control now he stood behind Tim and watched him work.

"Can't get a location Boss, her phone must be switched off. Can access her messages though."

Skimming through the most recent messages he found the one from DJ. Gibbs made a note of the address.

"Want some help?" Tim asked seeing how worried the man looked.

Gibbs nodded."Thanks Tim" and with that he stalked out of the apartment, towards the car, McGee almost breaking into a jog to keep up.

It took longer than they thought and a few wrong turns to find the right street. They had no sooner turned onto it, when Gibbs had to swerve sharply to avoid a red car coming towards them on the wrong side of the road. Even though he only managed to get a glance at the car's occupants, he was positive it was a laughing Taylor sitting in the passenger seat.

"Was that Taylor?" Tim asked

He didn't have to wait for conformation as the car was spun round to face the opposite direction and began following the other car.

"Boss that kid didn't look any more than fourteen!" Tim was shocked, but one glance at Gibbs told him that he was even more so.

For once Gibbs wasn't sure what to do. If he tried to stop them, they might just drive faster, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. If he just followed at a distance, he could tell from the way the car was swerving all over the road, the chances were they were going to hit something. He threw his cell phone over to McGee.

"Try her phone again, she might have switched it on."

Before they had a chance to find out, the car in front accelerated and vanished round a bend in the road.

Gibbs had just started to accelerate when a large bang came from up ahead. Absolutely terrified of what he might see, he hit the gas and flew round the corner. Up ahead there was a newly made gap in the fence at the side of the road. Both Tim and Gibbs were out of the car, almost before it came to a stop.

The car was lying on it's roof about thirty feet down a steep slope, engine still running. Sliding down the hill Gibbs made straight for the passenger side. Yanking the door open he could have cried with relief when he saw Taylor trying to release the seatbelt. She was ok. Supporting her weight he undid the seatbelt and lowered her gently to the ground, before pulling her clear of the car. Tim was mirroring his actions on the other side of the car dragging the boy out. There was no chance to check the kids for any injuries, the smell of fuel was becoming stronger, so McGee and Gibbs hauled them up the bank as fast as they could.

They had just reached the road when the car exploded, knocking all four off their feet. Gibbs threw himself over Taylor to protect her from the blast, staying that way until he was sure it was safe. He could feel his daughter trying to wriggle out from underneath him. Releasing her he watched as she staggered to her feet and brushed the dirt from her clothes. Taylor turned to face him, a look of indignation on her face. "What are you tryin' to do, kill me?"

Tim looked at both of them and grinned. "Think she's ok boss!"


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 5**

Gibbs sat with McGee in the waiting area of the hospital. When he realised his hands were still trembling he stood up and started pacing up and down. The events of the night were playing on a loop through his mind. He couldn't shake the terrifying thought of what would have happened if they hadn't been there to drag them out of the car. He'd almost lost her.

Finally the doctor appeared. "Your daughter is going to be fine, there's a little bruising across her chest from the seatbelt, and a few minor cuts and grazes. We're not sure though if her headache is just a result of the alcohol or a possible concussion so if it's ok we'd like to keep her in overnight just to be safe."

Gibbs nodded his consent. He could have hugged him. Instead he made his way into Taylor's room to check for himself she was ok.

He found her curled up on her side, fast asleep with her thumb in her mouth. It was a habit she had kicked a long time ago but it resurfaced every now and again when she was really tired. Lying there looking so young and innocent he found it difficult to believe she was capable of landing herself in so much trouble. His thoughts were interrupted when Tim stuck is head round the door. "Doctor said it's ok to speak to DJ now." he whispered. Gibbs took one last look at his daughter before going to deal with her accomplice.

It didn't take long, but by the time Gibbs left the boy's room he was confident that DJ wouldn't be coming anywhere near Taylor again.

Taylor felt like crap. In the past few hours she had been poked and prodded, x-rayed, scanned and thrown up at least three times. All she wanted to do now was sleep, but every time she did someone woke her up and asked her dumb questions. What did she care who the President was or where she went to school! Frustrated, she told them this in no uncertain terms, but much to her annoyance the checks continued.

The sun streaming through the window the following morning woke Taylor up early. Slowly sitting up to take in her surroundings she caught sight of her dad, fast asleep in a chair beside the bed. He looked as if he had been there all night. As the memories from last night came flooding back she groaned inwardly and slumped back down on the pillows. She'd really done it now! In all her eleven years she had never crossed the line this far before. In fact the line was so far back she didn't think she could see it anymore. Taylor knew for sure her dad was gonna be furious and take it out on her butt, and there wasn't one thing she could do about it. Her future did not look good at all. As much as she hated being stuck in a hospital bed the idea seemed to be a whole lot more appealing now than going home.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 6**

Taylor snuck a quick glance at her dad as they drove home. He was eerily calm. The explosion she had been sure would come as soon as he woke up hadn't happened. You'd think she had done nothing wrong. Oh she knew it was gonna happen, but the way he was acting now made it impossible to tell when he was ready to pounce. It sucked, big time!

His demeanour hadn't changed by the time they reached the house, he just sent her upstairs to take a bath. Afraid to open her mouth and set him off, she did as she was told. Taylor dragged her bath out as much as she dared, then dressed and went to sit on her bed. Five, ten, fifteen, then twenty minutes passed. No sign of her dad. All she could do was sit there and think about what she had done, and about what had so nearly happened. Her emotions were running wild, but scared and guilty seemed to be the most prominent. Unable to wait any longer Taylor took a deep breath and headed towards the stairs. Pausing about halfway down , she could hear the TV on in the living room. Losing her nerve she sat down and peered through the bannister. No movement. Just as she turned to retreat to her room, the TV was clicked off.

"Come on!"

She froze, wondering just how he knew what she had been doing, then turned and went to face the music.

Taylor's stomach was doing flip flops as she padded over to where he was sitting. He still didn't look angry, just disappointed. Anger she could handle, disappointment, not so much. Standing right in front of him she kept her eyes down and nervously ran her finger in circles on his knee. He stayed silent, but she could feel him watching her.

The little girl standing in front of him was showing no signs of her normal fiery temper, she looked scared. That at least gave an indication that she understood the enormity of the situation. He knew what she wanted was comfort and reassurance, hell, that's what he wanted too, but he wasn't going to give her that, not yet. He just watched her and waited for her to speak.

She couldn't stand the silence any longer. "I really messed up, didn't I?" Taylor whispered.

"If you think almost getting yourself killed is messing up then yeah you did!"

"Aren't you gonna say anything? Taylor was close to tears now.

"Think you should go first, after all you were the one who nearly ended up trapped in a burning car."

He definitely wasn't making this easy. Taylor sighed. "What do you want me to say?"

"How about you tell me everything you think you did wrong, that led to you being driven around by a drunk fourteen year old!"

"F..f..fourteen?" Taylor was shocked and looked up at him to see if he was telling the truth. There was no way he was kidding with that expression. "I didn't know DJ was only fourteen!"

"You knew he'd been drinking!" he yelled, jumping to his feet, temper breaking through the calm façade.

When she didn't reply, but dropped her eyes back to the floor he calmed down a little.

"Sit down. I want to know everything."

Taylor took his place on the couch. Retrieving a chair from the kitchen he sat down in front of her.

"Start talking" he ordered

She hesitated, she wasn't sure what to tell him, after all he didn't know everything, did he?

"Don't make me ask you twice!" he threatened, leaning towards her.

Swallowing hard she started to list her crimes.

"I told D.."

He interrupted her "Eyes up, look at me when you're talking."

Doing so she started again.

"I told DJ I'd go to the party when I knew you wouldn't let me" she waited for his reaction, but there was none so she carried on.

"I.. ah, sorta stole a bottle of bourbon from the basement to take to the party"

"Sorta or did?"

"Did"

He nodded, "Go on."

This was really, really hard. Taylor felt so guilty. Starting to cry , Taylor wiped the evidence quickly away with the backs of her hands and continued.

"I lied to you about goin' to the movies."

"I went to the party with DJ so you didn't know where I was."

Taylor paused to think, but her dad didn't appreciate the silence."

"Keep going." he warned

"I drank the punch, even though I knew there was alcohol in it." Cringing she continued "That's where your bourbon ended up…and I made DJ drive me home even though I knew he'd been drinking too." anxious to finish the last sentence came out in a rush.

It seemed to take forever for him to speak, but when he did Taylor knew for sure there would be no talking her way out of this one.

"You seem to have a pretty good idea of everything you did wrong. Did you understand that it was wrong when you were doing it?"

Taylor dropped her gaze and chewed on her lip before finally admitting it. "Yes sir."

There was a long moment of silence before Gibbs spoke. "Go wait in your room."

Knowing that was all he was gonna say for now Taylor turned without looking at him and for once did as she was told.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 7**

Throwing herself down on the bed Taylor reached for her ipod, figuring it would take her mind off what was gonna happen next. Up until now she hadn't really thought much about the spanking she was sure to get, but after breaking her actions down, she realised just how many bad decisions she had actually made. Closing her eyes before she cried again, Taylor put her earphones on and turned the volume up high.

About eight tracks later the music stopped abruptly when the lead from her earphones was disconnected from the ipod. Reluctantly she opened her eyes and stared up at her father. He motioned for her to stand up, so Taylor pulled the plastic buds from her ears and got up from the bed. Nervously, chewing on her bottom lip, she looked up at him and waited for him to speak.

"You knew exactly what you were doing yesterday when you made your choices, and I'm gonna make damn sure you don't repeat them. There isn't always going to be someone there to drag your ass out of the fire. I won't have you risk your life for any reason, ever. I'm NOT going to bury another daughter!

It was a short statement but it was enough, and Taylor was not surprised when he removed his belt. He sat down on the bed and pulled her over to stand in front of him. When he reached over and started to undo her jeans she looked at him in horror. He'd always let her keep her pants on when he used his belt, always! The thought of losing the extra protection of her jeans was enough to make her take an involuntary step back. It didn't make any difference though, he just pulled her back and landed a hard swat on her butt.

"Stand still!"

Not having a lot of choice in the matter she let him pull them down to her knees, then slide her into position over his lap. Her worry about losing her jeans was soon forgotten when she felt her shorts heading south too. Letting out a small groan she braced herself for the first swat. Taylor knew it was going to hurt a lot more without any clothing for protection, but nothing prepared her for the line of fire the belt produced when it made contact with her backside.

"Ahhhhh…." She bucked hard, fighting to get off his lap, pushing hard on his leg to get herself upright again. He paused.

"Hands"

When she didn't obey he simply reached over and gently positioned her hands in the small of her back. With both of her hands trapped under his she hadn't a hope of escaping. Didn't stop her trying though.

Swat.

"Ow!" the belt left a new searing line and reignited the first.

Swat.

"Ahhh….dad...not."

Swat.

"Ahh…so hard!

Swat. "Stop complaining,"

"Ow….."

Swat. "You've earned every lick!"

" I'm ….."

Swat.

"Ahhh …..I'm sorry.

Ignoring her plea and those that followed Gibbs covered every inch of her butt and the very top of her thighs before starting all over again. This time he made the swats slightly harder. Taylor was crying hard now, unable to think about anything but her backside and the searing pain that was steadily growing there.

When her crys turned to sobs he landed a few extra hard licks to her sit spot, then stopped. Dropping the belt onto the bed he carefully replaced her underwear and began to tenderly rub her back and shoulders. It took a long time for her to calm down but when she eventually did he helped her to her feet and drew her into a hug. Taylor held onto him tightly and buried her face in is shirt.

"I'd better not have to do that again."

Face still buried she shook her head.

"You realise you've lost most of your summer."

Taylor wasn't gonna argue. She nodded.

"And you're going to pay for the bourbon you stole. That won't be cheap, you took the most expensive bottle there."

Confused, she looked up at him. "But I took the oldest one!"

"Taylor, the older the bourbon, the more expensive it is."

"Oh, that's why that guy was impressed."

"I'll bet he was!"

With that he kissed the top of her head and left her to reflect on what she'd done and the consequences.

Taylor kicked off her jeans and lay face down across the bed. Her backside had never hurt this bad, she wasn't even gonna brave reaching back to rub the sting out. She thought back to what her dad had said about dragging her ass out of the fire. The way hers was burnin' now she wasn't entirely sure he had. Next time she saw DJ she was gonna kill him, it was all his fault!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 8**

Taylor spent the rest of the weekend brushing, dusting, cleaning and polishing. Every where from the basement to the attic. She could swear her dad was trying to work her to death. Whenever she finished a room he inspected it. If it didn't reach his exacting 'marine' standards he made her start all over again. Three times she had to clean the basement, the only thing that had kept her temper in check was the still present sting in her butt. It was boring work, but Taylor kept her mind occupied with thoughts of DJ and revenge. Ok, most of them were totally outrageous, but they made her feel better.

After dinner on Sunday night Taylor was lying sprawled out on the living room floor playing her PSP. She could hear her dad in the kitchen, he'd been on the phone for the last twenty minutes or so, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. She was definitely not looking forward to spending another day at NCIS. It wasn't just the mind numbing boredom, but Tony was bound to wind her up, and there was no way she would get away with any form of retaliation.

Gibbs hung the phone up and went to find his daughter. She was engrossed in a game, so he cleared his throat to get her attention. When there was no response he tapped her gently with his foot "Hey!". Taylor looked back towards him. "Go pack, we're going away for a few days."

The game was forgotten as she jumped up. "We are? Where?"

"Thought we'd go see your grandpa for a while."

Taylor couldn't help but grin. No NCIS, no Tony, no cleaning, it was practically a get out of jail free card. She sprinted up the stairs before he changed his mind.

Her enthusiasm waned slightly the next morning when she realised she would have to sit for most of the day in the car. Sitting was kinda high on her list of things to avoid at the moment. Thinking of the freedom at the end of the journey however she decided she'd just have to suck it up, and lowered herself gingerly into the passenger seat. This better be worth it Taylor thought as she squirmed around trying to find a comfortable position. For the first time in days revenge was not foremost in her mind. DJ could wait!

It was getting late by the time they pulled up in front of the small store. When her grandpa came out to meet them Taylor flew out of the car and launched herself at him. He caught her easily and hugged her tight. When she finally let go he held her out at arms length to check how much she'd grown. Taylor waited on the verdict. He studied her hard before looking at her dad. "Yip, definitely taller Leroy." She grinned. Same answer every time, but being the smallest in her class, any indication she was getting taller was welcome. "Come on, let's get you two inside." Taking her hand he led her inside, leaving her dad to bring the bags in. He found them in the kitchen and dumped her bag at her feet. "Time you went to bed."

"But it's too early. It's only…." Recognising the look on his face, Taylor didn't finish the sentence. "Okay, I'm goin'" Hugging them both she lifted her stuff and headed up to bed.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 9**

Up early the next morning, Taylor found the two men already having breakfast. Quickly eating a bowl of cereal, she rinsed the bowl out and set it in the sink, before making a move towards the back door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Turning turned round to face her father, hand still on the door handle. "Out."

"Don't think so." he said as he took another sip of his coffee and pointed at the chair beside him.

Taylor stood her ground. "Why?"

"You know why, you're still grounded, now don't make me tell you again!"

Her hand tightened on the handle, but she wasn't long letting go, and throwing herself into the chair when he began to get out of his seat.

She slumped down , folded her arms and stared at the table making it perfectly clear she wasn't happy. "So what CAN I do then?"

"Well for a start you can lose the attitude." he warned, leaning towards her.

Slightly intimidated Taylor unfolded her arms and pushed herself up a little.

"You can help out in the store today."

That didn't sound too bad, had to be better than cleaning all day, but still peeved at having her plans upset she didn't respond. Taylor knew he was waiting for her to say something, but she wasn't going to. The tension in the room was rising fast. Luckily before her dad exploded her grandpa came to the rescue. "Let's get you started, come on, I'll give you a guided tour." and with one last defiant look back over shoulder at her father, she was herded through to the store.

The morning passed pretty quickly, and even though she didn't want to admit it she had even kinda enjoyed herself. By lunchtime her bad mood was gone and she even cleared the table and washed the dishes without being asked. Gibbs stopped her as she started to head back through to the store. "Wait up, I want to talk to you." Turning, Taylor sat down at the table again.

"What I tried to tell you this morning before you got into your little snit, is that if you behave yourself you only have to work until lunch. The afternoon is all yours. All you have to do is stay out of trouble, and be back here by seven. Think you can do that?"

Taylor nodded enthusiastically.

"Good. Cause if you can't you're gonna end up spending all day cleaning out the store room with a sore backside. Got it?"

"Got it." she replied with a grin

He nodded towards the door "Well, go on then."

Watching as his daughter sped through the door, he couldn't help but wonder if Stillwater was quite ready for Taylor.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 10**

Taylor sauntered along the main street, trying to decide where to go first. She really wanted to find Katie and Lucas, she'd spent most of her time here last summer with them. It was hot and sunny so she figured they would be somewhere down by the lake.

It didn't take long for her to find them, they were sitting on a small jetty, feet dangling in the water. "Sure you can handle all that excitement?"

They both spun round,

"Heard you were in town, didn't see you around though!" Lucas said with a grin

"Been workin' in the store"

"That sounds like real fun!" he replied sarcastically

"Not my idea." determined to change the subject she continued "So what have you two been up to ?"

"Not much, considering there's absolutely nothing to do around here." Katie said with a bored sigh.

Still feeling the rush of her newly acquired freedom Taylor refused to believe there was nothing to do. "You're just not lookin' hard enough! Come on, you can't just sit here all day.

Reluctantly they got to their feet, slipped their sneakers on and followed Taylor as she made her way further round the lake.

It didn't take Taylor long to find something to pique her interest. One of the jettys had a small rowing boat tied up to it. It wasn't in the greatest shape but the oars were there, and it was afloat. At first they were content to leave the boat tied up but the novelty soon wore off. Before long they were taking it in turns to row up and down the lake.

Mindful of the time Taylor made sure they headed back to the jetty with about half an hour to spare. As they approached the wooden structure they could see two teenagers sitting watching them.

"Shit, that's Patrick and Ethan, they think they own this place!" Katie whispered

"Yeah Taylor, don't piss them off!" Lucas added, he'd witnessed her temper in full flow before, "Just ignore them."

From her position in the stern of the boat Taylor eyed the two boys up. As they pulled up alongside Katie jumped out.

"What the **** are you little shits doing? We wanna use the boat!"

"It's not your boat!" Lucas yelled at them, but got out anyway.

"It is now!" Ethan pushed him hard enough to knock him down onto the wooden boards, before turning to Taylor who hadn't moved. "Out!"

"What? No Please? Where's your manners?" her temper was rising fast.

"Get out now!"

"Okay, okay, you can have the dumb boat"

Not understanding her sudden change of heart, Lucas and Katie watched as she reached under her seat before climbing out.

The trio watched as the boys began to row towards the middle of the lake. They could clearly hear their laughter and knew they were the reason behind it. Lucas and Katie turned to leave but Taylor stopped them.

"Keep watchin'.

Confused by the huge grin on her face, they turned their attention back to the boat. The laughter coming from the lake suddenly stopped and was replaced by panicked yells and frantic movement as the two boys tried to turn the boat and row back. As cold water filled the boat, the yells changed to shrieks. They didn't stand a chance of making it back to the jetty. It was over in seconds. The two teenagers were left splashing around in the water with no idea what had happened. The boat was gone.

Taylor, Lucas and Katie were by this stage doubled over with laughter. As Taylor wiped the tears from her eyes, she realised the two boys were swimming towards them. "Think it's time we left." Heeding her advice they took off at a fairly quick pace, still giggling. They only slowed down when they reached the relative safety of the town. They stopped outside the store, and Taylor checked her watch. She was five minutes early. Looked like her luck was changing. She was just about to head inside when Katie stopped her. "Wait a minute. How did you know that was gonna' happen?" she asked with another giggle.

Taylor didn't say anything, just smiled, and opened her hand, revealing the bung from the bottom of the boat.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 11**

Her grandfather was waiting for her in the kitchen. He saw her glance down at the table. It was only set for two.

"Your dad had to go back to DC for a few days, so it's just me and you. You ok with that?"

Taylor grinned. "Sure." This day was only getting better. Okay, she might miss him, but she wouldn't miss his constant checking up on her, telling her what to do, and all those flamin' rules.

He looked relieved, "Well then, you'd better go and wash up, dinner's nearly ready.

As she walked up the stairs she put her hand into her pocket and felt the bung, she smiled to herself. This was gonna be her new lucky charm.

Lucas showed up early the next morning while she was busy packing shelves.

"Can't believe you did that yesterday!" he whispered "They're gonna kill you when they find out who you are."

"Do I look worried? She said casually as she placed another can on the shelf. "Besides, by the time those two idiots figure out where to find me I'll be long gone."

"I wouldn't wanna bet on that. You do know Ethan's dad is the Sheriff?"

Taylor dropped the can she was holding and spun round. "You couldn't have told me that yesterday?" she whispered as loud as she dared, glancing over to check her grandpa hadn't heard anything.

"Sorry, I sort of forgot you didn't know, and anyway how was I supposed to know you were gonna sink their boat?"

Taylor thought for a moment. "We're just gonna have to make sure we stay out of their way for a while, and hope they find something better to do."

Lucas didn't look convinced, but nodded anyway. "Just thought I'd warn you. You still on for this afternoon? Or are you gonna hide in here for the rest of the week?"

"No way am I gonna be stuck in here, I'll meet you out back when I'm done here." As Lucas left, she picked up the can she had dropped and placed it on the shelf. Now she was worried!

Despite having to avoid the 'two idiots' all afternoon they still managed to have a pretty good, if less eventful time. They had spent most of it at one of the old abandoned properties north of the town, just hanging out, and every now and again re-enacting yesterdays sinking. They felt pretty safe there, it was surrounded on all sides by fields, giving them plenty of notice if anyone showed up. In fact they were having such a good time Taylor completely forgot about her curfew. By the time she remembered it was already 8.00pm. Swearing loudly she jumped down from the fence she was sitting on, yelled a hasty goodbye to an amused Katie and Lewis and hightailed it back home.

Taylor flew in through the kitchen door as if she was being chased by the hounds of hell. "Sorry I'm late I……" She stopped speaking and running at the same time, skidding slightly across the floor. Her grandfather was not alone. Sitting beside him at the table, drinking a cup of coffee was the sheriff. Glancing quickly from one to the other Taylor tried to read their expressions. She wasn't sure about the sheriff, but her grandpa didn't look angry, that had to be a good sign.

"The sheriff here wants a word with you. Ed, this is Taylor, my granddaughter." Still shocked she just stood and gaped at him, saying nothing. The sheriff set his cup down and pushed out the chair opposite him with his foot.

"Take a seat."

Slowly she did, and focused intently on her hands as she waited for him to speak.

"Were you at the lake yesterday?" he opened with.

"Yeah."

"Did you take a boat out for a spin?"

She glanced briefly at her grandpa before she answered.

"Yeah, but we brought it back. We weren't the last to use it!"

"So I believe. What happened?"

Taylor was starting to panic a little, and she didn't think before answering. "Why don't you ask your idiot son?"

He ignored the reference to Ethan. "I'm asking you."

"Answer him Taylor"

She sighed. "We rowed the boat about for a while, then brought it back to the jetty. Then your son and his mate took it out." she paused trying to think what she was gonna say next. "We watched them row out, but then they started jumping about all crazy, and yelling." Trying very hard to hide the smile the image in her head produced, she finished in a rush "then the boat sank, and they had to swim back. Unlucky huh?"

"They're not so sure it was bad luck." he growled, "and neither am I."

"What do you mean?" she asked, putting on her very best innocent face.

"What did you do to the boat?"

"I didn't do anything to the boat!" trying to sound indignant, even though she was lying.

He just stared at her.

"What? You think I drilled holes in it while Ethan watched. I didn't do anything! It was an old boat, maybe they damaged it when they jumped in!"

Feeling pretty confident now that he couldn't prove anything she folded her arms and stared him out.

He sighed, and finished the last of his coffee, and stood up. "Thanks Jack, sorry I had to bother you with this. Looks like Ethan and Patrick will be busy this summer working to pay for the boat."

"No problem Ed, I understand you were worried about Ethan. As he led the sheriff out through the store, Taylor was left on her own. Convinced she was home free, she helped herself to the food being kept warm in the oven.

Taylor had finished eating and cleared up by the time her grandfather reappeared.

"Sit down." he pointed towards the table. "I think we need to talk."

As she lowered herself down she started explaining why she had been late. "I'm sorry I was late, I know I'm meant to be back by seven, but .."

He interrupted her as he sat down opposite. "That's not what I want to talk to you about."

Relieved she wasn't in trouble, she waited for him to continue.

"What did you do to the boat?"

Okay, she hadn't expected that. "I already said, I didn't do anything to it!" The lie came easy to her lips but she avoided his gaze.

"I expect you to tell me the truth, now look at me." he waited until her eyes met his before he asked again. "What do you do to the boat?"

Taylor swallowed hard before answering. "I didn't do anything to the boat."

As soon as the words were out she realised that she had seriously misjudged her ability to lie to her grandfather. She recognised the furious glare he now aimed her. It was identical to the one her father used when he knew she was lying. Now she knew exactly where he got it from. He didn't say anything, just reached into his pocket and placed something on the table in front of her. Taylor had to force herself to look down at it, afraid of what it might be. Her fear was justified, and she had no reasonable excuse as to why she was now looking at the bung from the boat.

"Upstairs!"

Obeying immediately, she pushed the chair back and fled to her room.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 12**

Slamming the door hard Taylor paced up and down the middle of the room. Her temper was rising fast, it wasn't her fault, she didn't start it. Why did she have to take the rap for it? If anyone was to blame it was dumb and dumber, they were the ones throwin' their weight about. As for her grandpa, he'd known all along she'd been responsible for sinking the boat, but he still let her sit there and lie to the sheriff, some help he'd been. That had gotta be entrapment! What was he doing going through her pockets anyway? This thought prompted her to look under the bed where she had kicked her clothes last night before getting into bed. They were all gone, he must have been doing the laundry today. Some lucky charm she thought, should have just dumped it. The only upside she could think of was that her dad was over two hundred miles away.

Taylor had been stewing for about half an hour before the door finally opened. As she spun round to face her grandfather she was ready to spit nails. He closed the door quietly behind him and took a few steps towards her. Taylor stood her ground, crossed her arms in front of her and scowled at him.

"You better lose that attitude pretty quick!" he warned.

"Or what?" she spat back at him.

"Or you can spend some time standing in the corner, before we deal with everything else." he didn't raise his voice but his words were like steel.

Ignoring all the danger signs she allowed her anger to respond.

"I aint standin' in any corner!" she yelled back.

Without a word he closed the gap between them and grabbed her left arm. Taylor tried to reclaim her arm, swearing loudly as she did so, but couldn't break his grip. He easily pulled her close, and turning her sideways, applied six extremely hard swats to her butt.

She stopped mid rant "OW!!!!" and flung her free hand back to prevent any further attack. He turned her in general the direction of the only free corner in the room, and releasing her arm, pushed her gently towards it.

"That just got you twenty minutes."

Taylor was still too fired up to realise she wasn't gonna win this battle. She spun round to face him again.

"No! I told you I wasn't gonna stand in the ****ing corner!"

He stared at her for what Taylor thought was a lifetime, before reaching out towards her. Thinking he was gonna grab her arm again she pulled it out of the way, but instead he took a good hold of her t-shirt right at the scruff of her neck. She started struggling again, but it had no impact whatsoever. He easily pulled her over to the bed and as he sat down he dragged her over his lap. Not wasting any time, he started spanking. Her anger stopped her from really feeling the first half a dozen smacks, as she tried in vain to wriggle off. Unfortunately, as her ass started to heat up, the anger began to recede, leaving Taylor in no doubt about just how much she'd underestimated him. She stopped struggling, but her grandfather didn't let up. As her tears started to hit the floor she swallowed her pride and looked back towards him. "Okay, okay.. I'm ….s..sorry. I'll stand in …..the corner."

He landed a few extra swats for good measure, before allowing her to stand up. Giving her time to rub the tears from her eyes he pointed at the corner. "Thirty minutes."

Trying really, really hard, not to say anything she would regret, Taylor accepted the longer sentence by walking to the corner.

He sat on the bed, watching her for a few minutes, until the shrill ring of the phone broke the silence. She heard him get up and answer the call in the room next to hers. Making the most of the opportunity she tried to rub the sting out of her butt. She froze however when she realised who her grandpa was talking to. From the way he was relating her actions and behaviour it could only be one person. Groaning, she lent her head against the walls. Taylor could just imagine his reaction. Two hundred miles didn't seem so far away anymore.

When he eventually hung up she stood up straight again, and listened as he paused in the doorway before going downstairs. Taylor thought her thirty minutes must be up by now, but when her grandfather returned a few minutes later he didn't release her. He just sat down on the bed. Sighing, she waited for him to tell her she could leave the corner, as patiently as she could.

Finally he did and she turned to face him. He was standing now, and motioned for her to sit down. When he was sure she wasn't going to make a bolt for the door, he crossed the room to the dressing table, pulled the chair over, and sat directly in front of her.

"You have a lot of explaining to do young lady." he waited for her to respond.

Starting to feel resentful again Taylor just glared at him. She was determined not to make this easy for him.

"I'm waiting." he said, leaning forward.

"For what?" she countered.

"For you to tell me exactly what happened."

She couldn't miss the flash of anger behind those blue eyes, but decided to ignore it, after all she was bound to get a hiding anyway, couldn't make it any worse.

"You already know what happened." she shrugged.

"I want you to tell me what happened and why you tried to lie your way out of it." He was barely holding onto his temper now.

Wanting to see just how far she could push him she replied. "I'm not sayin' anything on the grounds that I might incriminate myself." (She'd heard people say that on TV, but had never been brave enough to try it on her dad). With that, she scooted back on the bed a little and resumed her defiant glaring, waiting to see his reaction. It was not what she had expected.

Sighing, he calmly sat up straight again, and looked at her carefully. "You know, I think Leroy might have the right idea." Saying nothing else he stood up and left the room. Taylor might have been putting on a brave face, but she was afraid to move. Her heart in her throat, she listened to drawers being opened and closed in the adjoining room.

When he returned he was carrying a thick leather strap. Taylor looked at it horrified. Seeing her reaction, he held it out.

"Your dad's idea. Worked on him, so he figured it just might work on you too."

For once Taylor was speechless. Ok, so maybe I pushed him a little too far she thought.

"Up."

"D..don't you want me to explain?" she said frantically trying to change his mind.

"You had your chance, you can do all your explaining to your dad. We're just going to go straight to consequences. Now stand up."

She was frozen to the spot.

"NOW!"

That got her moving, and she shuffled towards the edge of the bed and stood up.

"You're not really gonna use that are you?" she said, taking a step away from him.

"You've only got your self to blame." He reached out and took hold of her arm.

When he moved his chair out from the bed Taylor realised this was really gonna happen. As a last ditch attempt she tried to explain that wasn't her fault. It didn't make any difference, she still ended up across his lap.

SMACK

Taylor yelped.

SMACK

"OW…"

SMACK

"Ahhhh………"

SMACK

"OW!"

SMACK

"I'm sorry!"

SMACK

"I won't do it again!"

SMACK "Won't do what again?

"Ahhh…Lie to you!"

SMACK "What else?"

"Ow…" Taylor was finding it difficult to concentrate with the rapidly growing fire in her backside, and was now crying hard.

SMACK "Answer me!

"Ahhhh…..I won't….."

SMACK

"Ahhhh….."disobey"

SMACK

"Owww…you"

He stopped spanking, but she didn't try to get up, just lay there sobbing. Waiting until she started to move he helped her stand.

"You still mad at me?" she asked in between sniffs.

"No." he reached out to hold both of her hands. "But if you lie to me again, you'll find out what that strap can really do. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

Standing up, he ruffled her hair and gently pushed her towards the door.

"Go brush your teeth, it's bedtime."

Relieved the grandpa she knew was back, she turned and hugged him before grabbing her pyjamas and heading to the bathroom.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 13**

Gibbs arrived back on Saturday afternoon. Taylor was nowhere in sight when he entered the store, but his father was sitting behind the counter. They hadn't had any contact since Taylor's last escapade, and he was hoping everything had already been dealt with. Not surprisingly he was disappointed. By the time he'd heard the full uncensored version he was fit to be tied.

"Okay, where is she?"

"Storeroom."

Taylor was moving boxes around, giving them the odd kick and swearing at them in a low voice. Although not strictly necessary, these actions made her feel a little better. She was mad at her grandfather. He wouldn't let her out this afternoon, even though she'd behaved herself for two whole days. So intent on trying to kill a box, she didn't hear the door open behind her.

Gibbs watched her in action for a couple of minutes, and wasn't exactly impressed by either her behaviour or language. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

Spinning round fast she almost lost her balance. Looking a little guilty, she spoke in a falsely cheerful voice. "Hey dad, didn't know you were back."

"Uh huh."

He beckoned her forward with his finger. Reluctantly she moved closer, the way she always did when she had done something wrong, stopping just out of arms reach.

"I believe we have a few things to discuss."

Taylor didn't answer, just hung her head.

"Come on then."

Not wanting to risk actually walking past him she waited until he turned, then followed him into the kitchen.

As Taylor sat down at the table, Gibbs made a bee-line to the coffee pot and filled a cup, before pulling out the chair beside her. He sat down and used his foot to turn her chair round so that she was now facing him.

"I'm waiting.."

"It wasn't my fault."

He sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. "What wasn't?"

Deciding to aim high Taylor decided to reply with "All of it."

"When you took the bung out of the boat, you knew it was going to sink didn't you"

"Well….yeah"

"Didn't matter that it didn't belong to you?"

"But it was fu… "Taylor caught herself just in time. "falling apart."

"Still belongs to someone."

"Who?"

"Doesn't matter who. I still have to replace it."

" Why can't Patrick and Ethan pay for it? They started it."

"How did the they start it?"

"They were pushin' us around."

"Maybe so, but you finished it."

"They don't know that."

Typical Taylor logic he thought.

"They will do, when you apologise, to both them, and the sheriff ."

"There's no way I'm gonna apologise." she said, shaking her head just to make sure he fully understood her thoughts on the matter.

"We'll see if you still feel the same way when I'm finished with you."

Taylor really wished he hadn't said that.

"What about the way you behaved with your grandfather? Do you think that wasn't your fault?"

"I was angry, and he already punished me for that!" she was getting annoyed now.

"What have I told you before about your temper?"

"Don't lose it."

"So what happened with your grandpa?"

Looking down she barely whispered "I lost it."

"Why?"

She shrugged.

"That's not good enough. Why?"

"Doesn't matter how many times you ask, I still don't know!" she replied, with just a little too much attitude.

"You're doing it again!" he yelled

"So are you! See! It's not that easy!" In retrospect Taylor figured that probably wasn't quite the right thing to say, as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the chair.

"You're giving me good reason to lose my temper." he growled as he delivered two stinging swats to her backside before dropping her back into the chair.

She glared at him.

"Do I have to go find the strap?"

Taylor immediately forgot about being angry and shook her head.

Satisfied that she had calmed down he continued.

"You lied to your grandpa and the sheriff. Why?"

"I didn't think they knew about me taking the bung out."

"So you think if no one knows you're lying, that's ok?"

"Well ye………" he stopped her dead with a glare, and she quickly changed her answer. "No."

He drained the last of the coffee from his mug, and went to refill it, before nodding towards the door. "Go wait in your room."

Still maintaining a safe distance Taylor slipped past him and up the stairs.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 14**

Pretty certain her dad was gonna make her wait until he finished his second cup, Taylor made a slight detour before going to sit her room. The longer she waited the more nervous she got, I mean how long did it take to drink coffee? Finally she decided she'd had enough, and made a break for freedom. Unfortunately her timing was not the greatest, and she ran slap bang into her father as he appeared in the doorway. The impact knocked her backwards and she landed on her butt. Saying he did not look happy was an understatement, so when he reached down to pull her up she scooted backwards across the floor, before standing up herself.

"Just thought I'd check you hadn't forgotten about me." she offered as an excuse, backing up a little.

This did not improve the situation one little bit, and he stalked towards her.

"Oh, don't you worry, I haven't forgotten!" Taylor backed up a few steps, but her retreat was blocked by the wall.

He grabbed her easily and she soon found herself standing in front of one really pissed off Gibbs, who was now sitting on the bed. He wasted no time, undoing the button on her combats and jerking them down to her knees. Fighting him all the way, she wriggled from his grasp and pulled them back up again.

"I told you it wasn't my fault!"

"He looked at her in astonishment. "We've just had this conversation, you know it was your fault!" he tugged them back down again.

"Well, I've changed my mind!" Glaring at him she reached for her pants again.

"Too bad! I haven't!" he'd had enough, and lifted his squirming and kicking daughter across his knee.

"Let me go you b******!"

They both froze. It was hard to tell which of the two were more shocked.

"I didn't mean to say that, I swear!"

She found herself on her feet again, but this time she was too scared to look at him, never mind argue. Without saying a word he led her over to the corner. Sitting back down again, he tried to get a grip on his own temper.

He watched her carefully for about ten minutes. She was crying quietly now, and all signs of her earlier temper were gone. Hoping she was ready to listen, he called her back over.

Not hesitating, Taylor walked over to her dad, wiping her eyes and sniffing, head still down.

"Hey! Look at me." though he didn't shout, it was definitely an order.

He waited until her eyes met his.

"You really have to get a hold on that temper of yours. If you don't, you're just going to keep landing yourself in trouble, and you know I'm not going to let you get away with that. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"I don't care what makes you angry, you're going to stop and think before you react. You should know by now exactly what's going to happen if you make the wrong choice, and if you're planning on sitting down anytime in the future you're going to have to learn fast." He waited for her to acknowledge what he'd said.

She nodded.

Satisfied with that he continued.

"Next time you get angry, try counting to ten, slowly, before you do anything, that way you can figure out if it's worth the consequences."

"Ok."

"As for your language…."

Taylor dropped her gaze to the floor again.

"I didn't mean it. It just sorta slipped out."

"Look at me." She didn't look up until he popped her under the chin with his finger.

"If I ever hear language like that coming from your mouth again, for any reason, my belt's comin' off and I'll make sure you regret it!"

"Yes sir"

"Pants."

Taylor knew he was testing her, so she undid the button and pushed them down. Swallowing down the rising panic she allowed herself to be positioned over his knee. He started to spank almost immediately, hard and fast, taking her breath away. Afraid she was gonna swear again she kept her mouth tightly shut. Only the occasional yelp or hiss escaped before she eventually started crying. The fire in her backside, grew rapidly, and just when she thought she couldn't take it any more, he stopped. Her relief was short lived however when instead of letting her up he hooked his fingers under the waist band of her shorts and slid them down. A dozen eye watering swats later and he was done.

After fixing her clothing, and lifting her onto his lap, he held her until the tears stopped.

"Go get cleaned up, you have a few apologies to make before dinner." Gibbs could feel her body tense up at the request and thought she was going to refuse. However not wanting to end up over her dad's knee again Taylor slid off his lap and walked towards the bathroom. One, two, three……..


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters. **_

_**Chapter 15**_

_Taylor stayed in the bathroom for as long as she could, only leaving her temporary sanctuary when her father became impatient and started yelling up the stairs. She definitely wasn't looking forward to this, and had spent the last twenty minutes trying to come up with a way out. Not even the glimmer of an idea. She was out of options, and soon found herself walking beside her dad towards the sheriff's office. _

_They had to wait in the small reception area, the sheriff was busy, somewhere out back._

"_He might be too busy, maybe we should just come back tomorrow." Taylor ventured, figuring it was at least worth a try._

"_You're not leaving here until you apologise."_

" _Don't wanna apologise." she said, a pout starting to appear._

"_You don't have to like it, you just have to do it." Thinking a little reminder was necessary he added, "Sit down."_

"_Aw, come on!, do I have to?" She asked glancing back at the row of chairs, they didn't look the least bit comfortable._

"_Yeah, you do." Turning her round, he nudged her towards the seats._

_Lowering herself down gingerly, she made a mental note to keep her mouth shut in future._

_After a few very uncomfortable minutes, the sheriff appeared and ushered them through to his office. He sat down behind the desk. "So what can I do for you?"_

_Her dad stood directly behind her, hands resting on her shoulders. Taylor didn't say anything until he leaned down and whispered, so only she could hear "Do it, now."_

_Her head said no, but her backside said yes._

"_I'm sorry." _

_He looked confused._

"_For what?"_

"_I …..ah, ……kinda ….lied about sinking the boat." as an after thought she added "You gonna arrest me?"_

"_I should." he got out of his seat, walked round the desk, and stood in front of her, arms folded. "Why'd you do it?" he asked, although he already had a sneaking suspicion. He knew that son of his pretty well._

_Feeling her tense, and afraid she was going fly off the handle, Gibbs increased the pressure on her shoulders. It had an immediate effect, and she relaxed a little before answering._

"_They were pushing us around."_

"_Who, Ethan and Patrick?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Is that why you were going to let them take the blame?"_

_She nodded._

"_Why don't you wait outside, I want to have a word with your dad."_

_Taylor paced up and down the reception area, wondering what they were talking about. The woman behind the front desk was firing her dirty looks, but she wasn't going to sit down again, not for her anyway. She had just started reading some of the posters and notices when her dad came striding out. _

"_Come on."_

_At least he didn't look angry. Taylor had to run to catch up._

"_What did he say?" she asked as she drew alongside._

_He slowed down when he realised she was having trouble keeping up._

"_You have to apologise to Patrick and Ethan and……." he glanced down towards her. She was gone. He turned round to find her. She'd stopped dead, and was staring at him. He walked back and grabbed hold of her hand before she thought of running._

"_But….." she started to object, but he wasn't having it, and interrupted before she could say anything else._

"_It's happening!" he warned as he towed her along in the direction of the store. "Ed's going to bring them round in the morning."_

_It was a pretty tense meal time in the Gibbs household. Taylor wasn't happy, and didn't care who knew it. She squirmed uncomfortably on the hard chair, and refused to talk to anyone, unless she was asked a direct question, and even then she used the shortest answer she could think of. Trying hard to ignore the warning looks from both men on the other side of the table, she used her fork to push the food around on her plate. She wasn't hungry, and had eaten little of it. _

"_If you're not going to eat that, you can just go to bed!"_

_Looking at her dad she knew if she didn't leave now he was really gonna lose it._

"_Fine!" she dropped the fork onto the plate and stormed up the stairs._

_He let her leave, even though his initial reaction had been to follow her upstairs to confront her. Instead, he reached for his coffee, hoping that she would calm down when she spent some time on her own. Sighing, he shook his head at his father. He wasn't looking forward to tomorrow any more than Taylor was._


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 16**

After breakfast the next morning Taylor slunk off to bedroom to lie low for a while. She knew that she couldn't hide, but wasn't going to make it any easier than it had to be. Part of her wished she was brave enough to disappear completely for the day, but she wasn't that crazy, she'd have to come home eventually, and she didn't like the idea of her welcoming committee. As she stood looking out the window, she could see the sheriff and the two boys approaching, so wasn't surprised when she heard her dad calling her down. Ignoring it she lifted her earphones, and switched on her ipod. With the volume up, how could she be expected to hear anything. It only earned her a sixty second delay though, as she felt a tap on her shoulder. Sighing, the ipod was thrown down on the bed, and she was ushered downstairs.

They were waiting in the kitchen, the sheriff was leaning against the sink, talking to her grandfather, dumb and dumber were seated at the table. Taylor was deposited in a chair facing them. Her father wasn't quite so trusting as the sheriff, he stood right behind her, just to make sure she stayed there.

"Ok, so who wants to go first?" the sheriff asked, moving to the side of the table.

Taylor ignored the hand now resting on the back of her neck, and glared at the two boys, they both returned her angry stare and stayed silent.

Taylor?

Typical she thought, the sheriff was picking on her first. Folding her arms defensively, she slid down the chair a little, but didn't take her eyes of Ethan and Patrick. The pressure on her neck increased slightly, but she still did not acknowledge it. Taylor jumped when her dad started whispering in her ear.

"Do we have to go discuss this again?"

She looked across the table, swallowed her pride and uttered a barely audible "Sorry."

"Can I go now?" she looked up hopefully at her dad who had released her and taken a few steps back.

"No. Keep going."

"I said I was sorry!" Taylor was trying really hard to keep her temper in check.

He took a step towards her.

"Okay!" she turned back to the table. "I'm sorry I made the boat sink, and you had to swim back."

"That do?" The look on his face told her no.

There was nothing else for it. "And I'm sorry I let you take the blame." she fired out.

This time when she looked round, he nodded.

Sighing, she stared hard at the table, not wanting to see the smug looks she knew they'd be wearing.

"Ethan…" The sheriff turned his attention to his son.

"Sorry we were picking on you." Ethan said reluctantly

"Me too." Patrick added

Taylor looked up in surprise, she definitely wasn't expecting that, although it was clear they didn't mean it any more than she did.

The sheriff lent down on the table.

"Considering this whole thing was down to you three you can split the price of the boat three ways. Taylor watched quite happily as Patrick and Ethan both objected.

"I don't want to hear it!" he cut them off, "go wait outside."

Taylor smiled sweetly as the walked past her. They did not return the sentiment.

Standing up she asked again, "Can I go now?"

This time she got the answer she wanted, and headed through to the front of the building.

The store was deserted, so Taylor decided to sit outside. Propping the door open to let some fresh air into the stuffy room, she sat in the shade waiting for any customers. When Ethan and Patrick turned the corner however she wasn't so sure it had been such a good idea, but couldn't resist taunting them.

"Shouldn't you two be workin'? Boats aren't cheap you know. Think you'll have any summer left by the time you've earned enough?"

Ethan started to move closer, but Patrick stopped him, grabbing a hold of his arm.

"It's not worth it!" he warned. "We're in enough trouble already."

Oh she was so enjoying this. Confident Patrick wasn't going to let go of Ethan she stood up and moved a little bit closer to them.

"Why don't you go for a swim, you know, cool off a bit. Just what a f****** d******** like you needs".

She expected him to be really annoyed by that statement, and waited for him to try and top it. Instead, his glower transformed into a huge smile. It only took a fraction of a second to realise he wasn't looking at her anymore. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Someone was standing right behind her.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 17**

"You two, home!" The sheriff appeared from somewhere behind her. Ethan smiled at her again and waved, "Bye Taylor, have a nice day!" before walking away, sidekick in tow, sheriff following. Taylor didn't move. She couldn't. If she had any control over her legs, she'd be at least half a mile away at by now. There was no way she was turning round. If she had to stand like this all day, she would. Anything to avoid facing the person standing behind her. Her situation reminded her of Jurassic Park, it felt just as if she was standing still to avoid a T. Rex, and to be honest, right now she would probably prefer the dinosaur. When nothing happened, she began do doubt there anyone behind her at all, maybe they'd just seen the sheriff. Relaxing ever so slightly, she shifted her weight a little just to see what would happen if she moved. Bad call. Gibbs pounced!

She was dragged inside by the scruff, her feet hardly touching the ground.

"Five minutes. You can't even stay out of trouble for five minutes!"

They were in the kitchen now. Taylor had finally regained the use of her legs and was desperately trying to break away from him. Didn't slow him down though, he reached for his belt with his free hand and easily slipped it off.

"We talked about your language yesterday, less than twenty four hours ago. Looks like I didn't make myself clear enough!"

She only responded by struggling harder. There was no point in trying to talk her way out of this, and by the looks of it he wasn't going to give her the chance to do that anyway. Kicking one of the chairs out from the table he propped his foot up on the side of it. As she found herself upside down she briefly considered asking him to count to ten, but that idea vanished as he brought the belt down hard on her butt.

Yelping, she renewed her escape attempt with more vigour than before. Didn't make any difference though, the belt kept landing regardless of her efforts. It didn't help matters, that her backside hadn't fully recovered from the day before. The second lick was enough to make her eyes water, and the third had her crying. He stopped after six.

As soon as her feet hit the ground Taylor reached back and rubbed the seat of her pants.

"Next time you talk like that, you'll get double." he warned as he slipped his belt back through the loops. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Come on then, you can help me measure up for the new shelves in the storeroom."

Taylor soon found herself holding one end of a tape measure. "Am I still grounded?" she ventured.

"Just the mornings. If you show me that you can behave yourself, I'll think about giving you the whole day back."

Taylor grinned, the rest of her vacation was already looking brighter.

*************

_AN: Not quite sure to call it quits in Stillwater now to start a new story - any preferences?_


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